Netherworld - The Perennial Glaciation

Rome-based Alessandro Tedeschi, aka Netherworld, is an artist devoted to the search for "pure" ambient sounds, through which he channels his love for the cold and for Northern Europe into music, so much so that for his work "Mørketid" he used natural field recordings gathered in Norway, in order to bring his compositions closer, with greater coherence, to the "great cold" and the Arctic night.

First of all, tell us how the Glacial Movements label came about, which, from the outside, seems extremely bold for a young independent artist, especially at such a difficult time for the record market as the current one.

Glacial Movements was born as a tribute to the great Arctic and Antarctic expanses, to the sense of eternity that the cold and white silence evoke in me whenever I find myself in contact with the cold of nature or during the winter season.

I agree with you, launching a record label at a time like this is anything but simple, but that's precisely why I'm doing it. I love challenges, setting goals for myself, and of course achieving them too.

Your label is young, but it already seems to have been born "big", since right from its first release, the compilation "Cryosphere", you featured internationally renowned artists. How did you get in touch with them, and how did you manage to win their trust and get them on board?

For "Cryosphere" I selected some of my favourite artists (some of whom I know personally) with whom I'd already been in contact in the past (Lightwave, Troum, Aidan Baker, Oophoi…), trading my CDs for theirs. Their trust in me came naturally once I explained the concept behind Glacial Movements and what the term "cryosphere" represents (the regions of the earth covered by ice). They all accepted with great enthusiasm, and I think they captured that concept perfectly in musical terms. The same thing happened with Rapoon (Robin Storey) for the production of "Time Frost", which, in my opinion, is one of the finest achievements in his vast discography.

Beyond the many critical responses, as shown by the numerous reviews you regularly post on your website, do you feel you've managed to carve out a space for Glacial Movements in terms of audience as well?

I think that, as time goes by, Glacial Movements is gaining more and more visibility, both in Italy and, above all, abroad. I devote a lot of time and effort to promoting my releases, and I'm on excellent terms with the best distributors and record shops around the world, which allow my CDs to reach pretty much everywhere. I often receive congratulations and words of appreciation from a lot of people, and that really means a lot to me. My goal is to have no limits, and I'll do everything I can to keep growing my label more and more.

What channels do you use to spread your productions?

For every release, the first thing I do is promote it to all the specialized magazines and radio stations (and beyond) around the world. This stage is fundamentally important because it helps me spread the word quickly. Many journalists tell me they now wait with pleasant anticipation for every Glacial Movements release. Then, of course, I also rely on collaborations with the most important international distributors to sell my products.

The idea behind Glacial Movements, starting with the choice of name, is strongly defined in artistic terms and atmosphere: do you think it will continue solely within these musical territories or could it, in the future, also embrace something slightly different?

The musical territories Glacial Movements moves through are many, and of course they vary depending on the artist chosen. But the most important thing is that the music fully describes everything connected to the concept of the great cold. There has to be a strong bond between the music and the concept. That said, the nuances can be truly countless, and I leave it up to the listener to interpret them however they see fit. Mine is just a guide; the rest is completed by the musical landscapes and by the artwork, which is another important aspect of Glacial Movements.

Alongside the label's "canonical" releases, you've launched the "Würm series": what is it, and what's the reason for setting it apart from the rest of Glacial Movements' output?

The Würm was the last glaciation to hit Europe roughly a thousand years ago; silence and ice reigned unchallenged, and human presence was almost nonexistent.

This series stands apart from the rest of the "regular" releases because, musically, it consists of a single track that unfolds slowly, without interruption, for an hour. The artist's task is to depict this ice age by offering their own vision of the Würm. The first installment (Würm Series I, just released) features Italian artist Oophoi, who chose to portray the Würm through an "aerial view," favoring expansive, still atmospheres. I've created a dedicated section for the series on my official website.

Now let's turn to your music and your fascinating "Mørketid": what inspirations led you to use field recordings gathered in the Arctic regions?

I wanted to use field recordings captured in Norway to maintain an underlying coherence with the concept of Mørketid. This is in fact a term used by Norwegians to describe the period when the sun rises only a few hours above the horizon, characterizing the winter season in that land. I made use of the sound of the wind, the extraordinary sound it creates as it brushes against those magnificent glaciers, and the voices of local people talking in the streets of Norway's beautiful towns, and then I manipulated it all in the studio, thinking about all the feelings I sensed within myself. I felt a sense of peace and serenity that I certainly can't find here in Rome. I believe that's the defining aspect of "Mørketid".

Your "field" experience gathering those sounds must have been fascinating: can you tell us some details?

It really was! The most beautiful experience I had was when I recorded the symphony of ice and wind inside the immense Jostedaalsbreen, the largest glacier in Europe. I climbed and made my way through the narrow spaces formed between the mountain rock and the glacier itself. The light generated inside was an intense blue that almost blinded me. Besides capturing every sound I could, I also took numerous photos... some of which I posted on my myspace.

Do you feel that the genesis of "Mørketid", both in terms of sound and personal experience, brought you spiritually closer to the idea of isolationist ambient? Could it in fact be an essential step in creating this kind of music?

I've always "felt" within me the need to translate my "isolationist" thoughts into sound. And I made other albums before "Mørketid" with that same intent. However, I believe the experience I had in Norway somehow steered me toward a different vision of musical isolationism, one that I think is really just beginning with "Mørketid". To me, isolationism isn't meant as a dark or esoteric experience, but rather as contact with glacial, cold, silent nature. This allows me to create my own "space," where I can think and reflect on everything around me, and on myself as well. I'm not afraid to look within.

To paraphrase your label's name, the music of "Mørketid", glacial as it may be, reveals a movement that is slow yet constant: is this the goal of your compositions, or do you instead favor uniformity and repetition?

I compose purely by following my instinct, and that's what leads me to build these so-called "slow" atmospheres. My goal is to create visions and a dreamlike state that gives the listener (but myself first and foremost) a strange sense of floating. For now, I believe this is the best way for my music to take shape.

In your musical upbringing and reference points, are there only artists connected to the isolationist and dark-ambient aesthetic, or does your spectrum of interest extend beyond the kind of music you compose?

During the day, or when I'm travelling by car, I obviously happen to listen to other things too, ranging from rock to pop, but above all I love classical music, which is the mother of all music that exists and which, to my mind, represents absolute perfection. In my collection I have many records and CDs by the great masters Bach, Mozart, Satie, Maria Callas, Debussy and others.

In your compositions I thought I detected traces of "orchestral ambient" too: are you interested in this kind of sonic approach and in the electronic filtering of instrumentation that includes strings?

I'm glad you picked up on that aspect of my music! Indeed, what I'm trying to bring to my compositions is the balance and beauty that classical music is able to express. However, I try to create broad, glacial tonalities and loops, giving a circular motion to the whole composition. Everything around us has that quality... from our lives to the seasons, or the movements of the planets, or the tides. Nature has always worked this way. Lately I've actually been using the sound of violins and strings, but obviously with a different kind of approach.

What are you working on at the moment? After the Nordic one, what will your next human and musical exploration be?

I recently finished a musical collaboration with Nadja (Aidan Baker and Leah Bucareff), which will be released by the well-known French label Fario (which this year will also release a single by Thomas Koner, and a split Charlemagne Palestine/Janeck Shaefer). The title of our work is "Magma To Ice" and I, of course, took care of its "glacial" side. I used only brief fragments of classical music and completely transformed them into new forms. The CD will come out in March 2008 and can also be bought on the Glacial Movements website. Also this year, a compilation came out packaged with a book for the Portuguese label Thisco. Alongside me were artists of the calibre of Rapoon, Jarboe, Von Magnet and others. As for Glacial Movements, right after Oophoi we'll be releasing the comeback of the great Lull (Mick Harris/Scorn), who will explore the cavities of ice. The CD should be out by May. I'm also collaborating with Marsen Jules.

As for human exploration, I'd really love to visit Iceland, and musically, I'm now composing more material following my visions, which are taking me "Over The Summit". As you can see, the cold characterizes pretty much my whole life right now!

Thank you Alessandro, and good luck with your music and with the work of Glacial Movements.

Heartfelt thanks to you, to Claudio Fabretti and to the whole OndaRock staff, who have always supported me since I began my adventure with Glacial Movements. And of course to all the readers too! Greetings to everyone, with the hope that this "global warming" can end as soon as possible! We absolutely must preserve the fragile glacial balance!!!

(28/03/2008)

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